Wicked Witch Murder

Lucy Stone #16

by Leslie Meier

With Halloween around the corner, and a mysterious murder close to home, Lucy’s Stone’s fall is off to a sinister start . . .  When the bewitching Diana Ravenscroft comes to quiet Tinker's Cove and opens Solstice, a quaint little shop offering everything from jewelry to psychic readings, Lucy Stone writes her off as eccentric but harmless. Even after Diana gives her a disturbingly accurate reading, Lucy can’t help but befriend the newcomer. But not everyone in town is so enchanted. And when Lucy stumbles upon a dead body near her home, she can’t shake the feeling that something ominous is lurking in the crisp October air . . .   Convinced Diana is an evil witch, prominent businessman Ike Stoughton blames her for a series of recent misfortunes, including Lucy’s gruesome discovery and his own wife’s death, and rallies the townsfolk against her. But after Lucy learns the murder victim was a magician and close friend of Diana’s, she starts to wonder who’s really stirring up a cauldron of trouble. By Halloween, her suspicions lead her to a deadly web of secrets—and a spine-chilling brush with the things that go bump in the night . . . “The warm, small-town ambiance and the persevering Lucy Stone make this a winner for cozy fans.” —Library Journal

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Halloween, Fiction, Cozy, Holiday, Witches

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Leslie Meier lives in Braintree and Harwich (Cape Cod), Massachusetts. She is the creator of 'Lucy Stone', a reporter and amateur sleuth in the fictional seaside village of Tinker's Cove, Maine.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy Stone doesn’t believe in witches or creepy predictions… or does she? Never take a dog walking; you always find dead bodies! Interesting advice, but it seems in cozy mysteries this is always true! A trip to the fortuneteller. A prediction of death and fire. Witches, witches, and witches galore. But who is really a witch, who is just pretending, and who is responsible for the fire that killed someone in Tinker’s Cove?

WICKED WITCH MURDER had some interesting characters, lots of small-town Maine scenes, terrible rainstorms that seem to go on forever, galoshes, wonderful gardens filled with giant pumpkins 🎃, owls 🦉, and casting circles. And cats! Oh, the cats! 🐈🐈 I am easily hooked by adorable pets in a good cozy. And as always, an intriguing mystery for Lucy to work out. 5/5 stars.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story about witches dividing the small coastal Maine village of Tinkers Cove. Leslie Meier keeps up the drama with lots of religious and political commentary in the small town. Wicked Witch Murder is the 16th Lucy Stone Mystery and focuses on the protagonist's two youngest daughters. A few things left open-ended in a very rushed ending tho. Hopefully we'll learn more in the next book.

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inconsistency is the name of the game with Leslie Meier. She cannot string two good books together at the time of writing. Although the trademark fluidity of the prose was present, the style emphasized starkly the lack of buildup, pacing, plot, and twists in this Halloween themed book. I do know it's the lowest rated book of the series, and the fact that I dislike it is no coincidence.

Bill Stone was cruelly underused during the entire thing. He appears only to flip the television channels or if he's being horny. I know he's not the main character but he is very important. If the author has no use for him then may I suggest killing him off? That would put him out of his misery. I can't know for sure what character appeared most here apart from Lucy, but it does look like Ike Stoughton might just be the one. His role is mainly to provide misdirection while the real murderer gallivants about fearlessly. Nobody, not Leslie Meier, not her editor, not anyone who she thanked in her book had the right clue to come up with the type of decent ideas that made this series a roaring success.

The biggest blot was the vindication of supernatural Wicca activities which left, at the last chapter, the door ajar, when trying to explain the miraculous events in the book. I do know there are ghostly cozy mysteries but why here? This is not meant to be a spooky book! I'm sure the low ratings reflect how readers reacted to this premise. The only purpose this book served was to make it clear to me that character development is the major thing that attracts me to this series. Likable characters that are a delight to root for. The author has fallen and came back before. I'm sure she'll bounce back in the remaining books, but I'm running out of them. When I do come to the last published book, let me look back on this series with longing instead of relief.

[Regina the Constant Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Audiobook 🎧

I’ve been reading this series for a few years now (out of order) and they’re hit or miss with me. This one was a hit. Right off the bat Lucy finds a dead body, killed in a gruesome manner. A new resident gets the blame from local residents because she practices witchcraft. At first Lucy is her usual prudish, closed minded self, but she listens to friends and the woman herself and comes to realize that she’s misjudged the woman and witchcraft. When another towns person dies and the witch is once again blamed, Lucy starts looking for answers. There was a twist I didn’t see coming which never happens to me in this series. I highly recommend this Halloween read and I hope you enjoy it as much as me. So mote it be.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

There’s a witch or two or maybe more in Tinker’s Cove. Diana Ravenscroft has opened a unique shop, Solstice, and it is not getting rave reviews from many in town. The most vocal is Ike Stoughton. He thinks Diana has cursed his family and his home. When Lucy finds a dead body she finds herself both leery of Diana but willing to accept a little protection from her. Things start to escalate the closer we get to Halloween and Lucy finds herself in a deadly situation.

Leslie Stone mixes murder and magic in a bewitching mystery. The book does span several months so we can learn about Diana and her coven and the way the town reacts to the new element in the midst. Ike Stoughton also moves to town and becomes Lucy’s neighbor. Something eerie is going on at that house and with his family and Lucy treads lightly at first but grows more concerned as the story continues.

The new characters in this installment are intriguing, different, and some just plain scary. Partnered with the series regulars an entertaining story emerges. Lucy has more courage than I will ever have. Using her part time job at the Pennysaver she interviews all the people connected to the case. Diana Ravenscroft also tries to teach her about Wicca, although she is skeptical her daughters are interested so she needs to know as much as she can.

A lot happens within these pages including a huge storm. There are several twists that turn the story in so many directions. At times is felt just a little disjointed. I think that was because the story took place over so many months.

Be sure to check out the recipes in the back of the book perfect for this Halloween.

[Christina T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Synopsis: With planning the town's annual Halloween Party, the drought wreaking havoc on her garden, and her brood of four children, Lucy Stone's got her hands full this fall- As the air turns crisp and the trees blaze red and gold in the tiny town of Tinker's Cove, Maine, a newcomer arrives who seems to suit the Halloween season. Diana Ravenscroft has just opened Solstice, a charming little shop featuring candles, crystals, jewelry, and psychic readings. But after an unnervingly accurate reading by Diana, Lucy starts to get more than a little spooked- Then there's the dead body Lucy finds, way up on one of the old logging roads behind her house. The deceased is identified as Malcolm Malebranche, a seemingly harmless magician who worked at children's birthday parties. When it turns out that Diana knew the murder victim, Ike Stoughton, a prominent local businessman, starts a campaign against Diana, blaming -the witch- for everything from the unseasonal dry spell to his wife's illness and his pumpkins- lack of plumpness. But Lucy's not so sure that Ike himself is innocent. Still, as the town Halloween party approaches, Lucy's more concerned about the costume competition, pin-the-nose-on-the-pumpkin, and baking three dozen orange cupcakes and Beastly Bug cookies. But as the October moon rises, a killer plans a lethal celebration of his own-and Lucy's the guest of honor-

My Thoughts: I've been taking a sabbatical from mysteries for a while now and, in the past, I've loved the cozy sub-genre to pieces, including the Lucy Stone series. Before my time away of all that is murderous, I must have read 8...maybe 9 of the previous Lucy Stone books. I truly enjoyed them. So, what happened? Did I get punk'd by the Suck Fairy? Did this series really suck all along and I never realized it or was this just a horrible book? At this point I'm just not sure....

What Worked: Um...I got nothing. Well, I kind of liked the dog and maybe the couple cats the appeared through out the book. Other than that...yep. Nothing

What Didn't Work: First off the synopsis above was on the inner flap of the dust jacket. Meaning the publishing company thought this was a very good description of the contents. Not so much. For one thing this book starts in April (minus the prologue that is time line ambiguous). What? I thought Lucy was overly concerned about the Halloween festivities. Well, she was but not until the last couple of chapters in the book. This book is not about Halloween at all but the persecution of the Wicca religion and those who practice it.

The main character, Lucy Stone, is not charming whatsoever. She flip flops between sticking up for Diana, who is a witch and a practicing Wiccan and making horribly insultive and prejudistic comments like...

Lucy: "Samhain?"
Diana: "It's our new year, but you know it as Halloween."
Lucy: "Oh," said Lucy. "I suppose you'll all be riding around on broomsticks."


I suppose that if Lucy was known for her wry and sarcastic sense of humor or Meier had included some indicators to suggest she were kidding (ie: Lucy said jokingly) this might not have rubbed me the wrong way but as it's written this statement is an insult to Wicca.

The entire portrayal of the Wicca religion actually rubbed me the wrong way. I am no expert on Wicca but do know a little. The book rang false in it's portrayal from Lucy (who knows NOTHING of it) convincing Diana to perform her spell at 9pm instead of midnight because "Nine is three thrice." "The power of your spell will be magnified three times.", to the spell being cast (an annoying rhyming ditty), to an entire coven ignoring the first rule of Wicca "An it harm none do what ye will". Basically, play nice and don't harm others.

Oh Yeah, this Didn't Work Either: The Mystery? What mystery? Sure someone died. Sure someone is vandalizing Diana's property (which is never solved by the way.) The murder is ultimately solved but not by Lucy, who I would have thought would have a hand in it. No, all she did was stumble along and point fingers at people and talking about Diana behind her back. Oh and almost get killed because she was too stupid to notice her gas gauge was low. Anyway, back to that non-mystery. What really torqued my tonsils about this book was that there was no way to actually solve this mystery. There were no real clues with only one viable suspect and a couple vaguely suspicious ones. Too many of the characters had a 'weird' moment making them all suspect a bit. Now one or two character weirdnesses I normally would say "Hey, Doomis over there is actin' a bit shady. I bet he set fire to that nice magician back in April." but I couldn't do that to everyone without having to forfeit my Mystery Book Lovers club card, besides I love the decoder ring too much to even chance a false "Aha! Mr Green in the Library with the Revolver" moment.

In a Nutshell: I really didn't like this book (in case you missed all of my "This book Sucked" points up above). I'm regretting reading it. I'm thinking of never going to Tinker's Cove with Leslie Meier again. I'm actually thinking of boycotting Maine all together despite their lovely lobsters. Man I hope the entire cozy sub-genre is not ruined for me because of this book.....

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well-written and well-constructed mystery plot that had a fairly long timeline, starting in spring and ending at Halloween. The author is a great storyteller and I didn't even come close to guessing the killer!

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute mystery with a witchy theme. I enjoy the Lucy Stone books, and this is great for those looking for Halloween reads.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. What a disappointing read. Since it claimed to be about Halloween and Wicca, I thought I'd give it a try, even though I really didn't care for another book in this series that I'd tried. I was sort of expecting this to be a mystery and really all I got was Lucy (the main character) driving to and from work, home, neighbors' houses and such, and total hypocrisy when it came to the attitudes of Wicca/witchcraft. On the one hand, Lucy was the first one to preach to all her skeptical, distrusting and overtly Christian neighbors that Wicca is just another religion and has none of the elements that Hollywood usually portrays when it comes to witchcraft (like in "The Craft" or "Charmed" or various others), yet she got all weirded out when her daughters wanted to try out spells and found Diana, the witch of the book, and her beliefs to be a lot of hooey. And to top this off there was a crazy religious fanatic and his oddball family running around town accusing Diana of putting a hex on everything from bad weather to the death of his wife.

Still, it was a light, breezy, fast read—but I think it was ultimately too light and with too many mixed messages—including the "mystery's" resolution, for me. I didn't even completely finish it; the Halloween part was at the end, and here I was, in the last 50 pages and there was still no resolution—not even close—to the mystery (which was a murder somewhere in the first few chapters of the book). It was just . . . ridiculous, right along the lines of Lucy Stone being a "hardened investigative reporter" for the, wait for it, "Pennysaver". O.o

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book at the library without ever having seen or read any of the other books in this series. I believe this is the 16th book in the series. I was intrigued enough to go back and start reading from the beginning.

Even though some of the characters, including the "heroine", can be pretty annoying it's a different premise from many other light suspense books. Plus we get to track Lucy as she progresses from stay at home mom to a part time job as her kids grow up and start to fly the nest. I find it interesting that Lucy and her husband were hippies in the 70's but he throws such a fit when she goes to work because his dinner isn't on the table at 6:00 and he and the kids have to start doing more around the house.

While I would have tossed a cast iron skillet at her husband, he and Lucy always handle the ups and downs of being an "old married couple". But I think the characters are based on real world people, that's why they irritate me at times. Real people do that occasionally too. ;) I think the stories and characters are based a lot on the author's life and experiences in New England, although I have to say I find them extremely conservative and small-town-ish in their attitudes. I was actually thinking New England might be a lovely place to retire but I may have to reconsider.

Still an entertaining series.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this book! Many of the books in this mystery series revolve around specific holidays, and I had expected this one to have more of a Halloween ambiance, but no! The story begins in the spring and progresses through the summer until Halloween. At the beginning of the story, a real witch named Diana has moved to Tinker's Cove, and she practices the controversial Wiccan religion. Sometimes I felt sorry for her, but much of the time she annoyed me. Of course, Lucy's two youngest daughters think that she is the cat's meow! Several times Diana asks Lucy for different favors, and all of the favors cause a problem except for the one time when she asks Lucy to feed her cat and water her plants. In spite of all of this, I enjoyed the content of the plot until I reached the last five or six chapters. The ending was too unbelievable for my taste. However, I was delighted with the two cats that appear in the story!

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first of this series I've read, and might be the last. Not horrible - just "blah". The whole storyline of this one was "okay", but I sort of felt like it was written by a non-Pagan trying to pretend they really knew what they were writing about. Not that it was entirely inaccurate - more like it didn't feel "genuine".

As for the series, it felt like a cozy mystery without the "hook" (ie: cross-stitch, knitting, scrapbooking, etc.). The main character is reasonably pleasant, but not in any way special. She's apparently happily married with two kids. No romance (or expectation of any), not much humor (or if there was, I didn't "get" it)... just "meh" for me.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have grave reservations about this book (pun intended). The witches in question start off treated fairly sympathically, but the viewpoint gradually swings the other way. The opposition, portrayed as a religious nut with perhaps shadings of child and wife abuse, is a charicature of all that is wrong with intolerant people.
An economic motive for some of the crimes is floated off and away almost as soon it is mentioned.
Lucy is one of the scattiest women in the universe--repeatedly going off by herself into the very woods that have just had tragic events happen in.
This is one of those books to be one of the three monkeys. Just put your hands over your eyes and--Read No Evil.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very misleading title. The reader picks this book up thinking that they're getting a fun cozy mystery centered around Halloween, but boy are they in for a surprise. The book starts at the beginning of Summer and not until the last few chapters, does it really mention Halloween(though there is mention of a Halloween party a couple of times early on) I felt it was a major letdown as a whole. Definitely not one of the Lucy Stone books that I had grown to love.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soooo...this would be a high 3 Star for me. A star got knocked off for the pretty crappy rep for Wicca in Diana. Lucy was just all over the place with it. It made me cringe and roll my eyes. She can either be open-minded and accepting as she claims, or not as she acted. But you can't be both. Otherwise it was a fun quick read.

[Jessica✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really don’t like Lucy as a main character.. she’s so judgmental and a little snobbish. Plus the whole town is just so backwards. An the writing is very inconsistent.. like I thought that Lucy had a baby but there is no mention of a baby at all!

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is quite a bit of witchcraft and supernatural "happenings" which I am not comfortable with. Otherwise the story was okay.

[Jennie Rosenblum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good day for a good book and Leslie Meier delivers again with an great Lucy Stone story.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5 stars. This Lucy Stone novel spanned several months and had all kinds of craziness going on. Really good ending to this story.

[Lesley Looper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, light read, especially since I like mysteries AND Halloween!

[Cheri McElroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had all the fun, cozy vibes I like in a light mystery. It's big on family life and small towns, which I really enjoyed. Parts of it were a bit stereotypical, but it hit a reading spot for me right now.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was in my Little Free Library, so I read it.

[Heather Ames · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took this on vacation for some light reading before sleeping in my tent. Could only handle one chapter, maybe two at a time. Such a ho-hum plot with every single sentence having a tag attached. I couldn't finish one line of dialogue without knowing that "she said, he said" or "said she, said he" would be added. Not one character stood out, although there were some really nice descriptions that brought Tinker's Cove itself to life. More time was spent describing the Halloween party at the end of the book than any other event except the really bizarre climax. And the star of the show, Lucy Stone, is a complete idiot who doesn't check her gas gauge, goes into the home of a strange man she has never met (including going upstairs with him,) and should be a single mother for all the time she spends with her husband. She not only hangs out with the town's most visible and accessible witch, but invites her to stay even though she doesn't want her teenage girls knowing anything about witchcraft, and the townsfolk are demonstrating very clearly that they don't want anything to do with the woman. Lucy does have one a good thing going...her two daughters cook just about everything, although their mother only eats cookies, apparently. Lucy seems like someone with arrested development. She has two older children, one of which is married and has a child, which would have to mean she either became a mother in her teens or should have way more sense and maturity. The Pennysaver is a strange title for the town's newspaper. Everywhere I've seen one, it has been a place to look for used vehicles and furniture, and that was before the days of online sellers. Obviously, I won't be back for another installment in this series.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love to read a good cozy and some of my favorite's take place in Tinker's Cove with Lucy Stone trying to solve the latest crime in the constant crime wave there!! :) In this tale, it's coming up on the annual Halloween party but the atmosphere doesn't feel quite the same this year. The high priestess of a local coven has moved into town and opened a shop catering to those interested in all things Wiccan. One new family in the community is quite upset about this and believes that everything happening is because of dark and sinful spells being cast about town. Lucy, a reporter for the the Pennysaver, is, of course, right in the middle of it all--finding the murdered body, poking about in the assessor's office to find out about land records and still finding the time to make beastly cookies for the Halloween party. I've liked all the books in this series so far, some better than others, but this is one of the better ones, I really enjoyed this spooky offering.

[Linda Bridges · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the finale of this book takes place on Halloween, the rest of the book moves from late spring to fall. This time the author's focus is on intolerance and how it can affect a small town. Each of these books takes place in the tiny Maine town of Tinker's Falls (there have been a couple of exceptions with one taking place in Boston and one in New York City), and while the original books in the series focused on the murders and Lucy Stone's family life, as the series has gone on the author has incorporated more serious themes. One was on teenage girls and their perceptions of themselves, physically; another was on cyber bullying, etc. This particular book didn't grab me. It had too much of the psychic in it and ultimately portrayed the underside of alternate religions. So I'll move on and see what the situation is in the next one and hope for better.

[Lexie DeLongchamp · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the dumbest books i’ve ever read. Why would Abby harm her mom instead of her dad? Why does Lucy call the police with every inconvenience? Why did the brothers run after Lucy in the forest? How did Ike know where to go to save his daughter? Why spend a whole book preaching the witchcraft and Wicca shouldn’t be frightening, then have the coven be the murderers? Why is Lucy the most un-likable main character? Why did it need to be implied that Lucy and her husband, who’s mentioned for 2 seconds in the entirety of the book, had sex, and that it made her glow? Why does Lucy claim to be busy when she literally never goes to work? Why was Compass Construction and Kyle Compton mentioned extensively while just being a red herring? Why were the real killers not focused barely at all? Why does this stupid book exist?

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diana Ravenscroft has come to Tinker's Cove, and some of the town's citizens are convinced she's a witch - she does claim to be one, but of the good variety. When a body is found murdered in the woods behind Lucy's house, questions are raised, and Lucy is once again on the hunt for a killer, all the while trying to prevent a witch hunt. Wicked Witch Murder is an excellent and very cozy addition to the Lucy Stone books by Leslie Meier, and especially spooky as it deals with witches and magic. I would like to note that even though the Lucy Stone series follows our heroine throughout the years as she raises her children, one of the best things about these books is that they can all be read as standalones. :-)

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy mystery starring a small town reporter who has to contend with the local witches. Halloween recipes follow the mystery. The mystery itself isn't too gory and the "bad guys/gals" aren't immediately obvious. I will definitely read more of this series.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! It was really spooky and I think it's my favorite so far!

[Lynne Perednia · Rating 1 out of 5]

A hodgepodge of a story that went off the rails in the end when it was time to wrap up the story.